 Last July I spent a wonderful afternoon sitting on the rocks at Hermanus, a delightful seaside resort about 100km east of Cape Town, in the company of about a dozen southern right whales - I believe even more come to the bay later in the season. They frolicked, blew and breeched in the sea, barely 60m from me. These giant whales come to Walker Bay and other areas along the southern coast of South Africa from July to November, to give birth. It was such a magical experience that I will return there again this August. Because you view the whales from the land, photography is easy: take a good camera, a tripod and a pair of binoculars and you will not be disappointed. Peter Hodes

 The best place without doubt is just off Vancouver Island, a short ferry ride from Vancouver itself, taking you through the beautiful Gulf Islands. There, you can see orcas (killer whales) in their natural habitat, alongside sea lions, eagles and other marine wildlife. The service we used was Grayline Tours. Contact them at www.grayline.ca. Everything can be booked online. If you're lucky, you may be able to board a super-fast speedboat which provides plenty of thrills on the turbulent waters! The service isn't just a sightseeing tour: you get personal and comprehensive commentary from specialist marine biologists who care for and protect these beautiful creatures and will happily share their knowledge with you. It is also a fascinating insight into the life and habitat of the most efficient and fearless predator on earth. Also, if you have the time, the tour can be conveniently combined with a visit to the very charming and British-style town of Victoria on Vancouver Island, and of course Vancouver City, one of the most spectacular and scenic cities in the world. Kamal Anwar

 Although I have seen belugas (white whales) in Svalbard, pilot whales in southern Greenland, a blue whale off the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, orcas from ferries on the west coast of Canada and orcas and sperm whales at Kaikoura in New Zealand, my best whale sighting was of minke whales while sailing with friends around the Inner Hebrides. Other well known whale watching areas include Iceland, Norway (Lofoten Islands), South Africa and New England. For an A4 SAE marked "Sail to Save", the Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society, Alexander House, James St West, Bath BA1 2BT, will send you a free colour laminated ID card of cetaceans around the UK. Jean Sinclair

 Probably not the best place in the world to see whales, but arguably a good choice for UK residents, is the Portsmouth - Bilbao ferry. This crosses the edge of the continental shelf in the Bay of Biscay, and apparently nutrients well up there to make it an attractive feeding ground. On our trip two years ago we saw scores of dolphins on the way out, and at least a dozen whales on the way back. There was a helpful identification chart on the observation deck, and I gathered from the "twitchers" who were also travelling that there are exciting opportunities to spot elusive pelagic seabirds as well. Robert Goundry

 All subjective, of course, but should you have other interests than whale watching, I would strongly recommend you travel to Boston, Massachusetts, which is easily accessible from the UK. Whale watch trips can be taken from outside the aquarium there (www.neaq.org).

Taking a trip from there one sunny, late May afternoon in 1998, after an hour and a half of sailing towards the US National Marine Sanctuary of Stellwagen Bank, we came eye to eye with two young humpback whales alongside the boat. We were in their company for over an hour and a half. Coming so close to whales involves the whims of the whales, as boats are not allowed to sail up to them, and if the whales do come within close vicinity, the boats are then not allowed to move away from whales.

I gather that whale watching trips to the Stellwagen Bank can be made from departure points from Cape Anne southwards and then North again to Provincetown.

Scrabble

 The best whalewatching I've had was at Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. There's a bay nearby where Pacific grey whales who've dropped out of the annual migration to Alaska spend time. They surface every five minutes or so and you can take a boat which drifts around quietly as you wait for them to join you. We were so near one we could smell its breath. Magic! David Blomley

 My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Alaska for two weeks at the end of May and beginning of June this year. We had no success booking anything through high street travel agents, the only options were cruises and bus tours. We booked flights to Anchorage and a hotel for the first few nights in advance, then arranged all further travel when we got there. Try www.alaskanet.com for information. The tourist season doesn't start until June 1, so we were able to book everything we wanted on arrival.

We took a daytrip from Seward on the Kenai peninsula with the Kenai Fjords tour company. The cost was around £100 each. The captain of the boat was excellent, giving a great commentary. We saw orcas and humpback whales. Both species swam fairly close to the boat, they appeared curious and friendly. In addition to whales we saw sea otters, stellar sealions, puffins, bald eagles, harbor seals and bears on the shore.

Later on the trip we went into the Denali National Park. There are bus trips of varying lengths into the park, no private traffic is allowed. We stayed at Camp Denali (www.campdenali.com) for four nights in a log cabin. In the park we saw bears, wolves, beavers, caribou, moose, gyr falcon, northern harriers and all manner of water birds.

Take a decent SLR with a good zoom lens (100 - 300mm). I used 800ASA film. Alaska is not a cheap destination, so start saving! Go now before Denali National Park becomes the George W Bush Car Park. Rachel Evans